J*Davey
New Designer Drug

by: Christina Calloway on Dec 13 2011
Above average: Not too shabby, commendable effort
3.5
When you fuse multiple genres such as pop, electronica, hip hop, and R&B (to name a few), you can expect a sound that is strong, affecting, and well, addictive. On their second album, New Designer Drug, J.*Davey is taking listeners on an ear-altering journey. J*Davey that consists of Jack Davey, the singer and songwriter, and Brook D'Leau, the producer, have used their varied musical influences to create an album that is trippy and melodic. The self-proclaimed "Black Eurhythmics" are musical partners reminiscent of the musical relationship between Timbaland and his muse, the late Aaliyah, or the musically eclectic Kelis and The Neptunes; they are in sync as Davey weaves her vocals in and around D'Leau's temperamental productions. "Queen of Wonderland" is the most memorable and hynoptic track on the album with Davey providing a rock dissonance with her voice. My personal favorite is Listen with sounds like musical post-coital bliss with Davey simply cooing the lyrics that ask a lover to listen to what she has to say even if she have the right words. Anything Goes transitions from a sensual electronica beat where the track is the focus to a dance-pop number. Rock That Ship highlights the influence of 80s new wave and pop that influenced D'Leau. D'Leau gets some vocal shine on the mixture of house and hip hop, Little Tramp$; near the end of the track Davey's cool demeanor breaks into cocky flow of her own. New Designer Drug is a familiar J*Davey sound but experimental. The production and vocals are so interesting, listeners will be pressing repeat to make sure they didn't miss anything. New Designer Drug is new in the streets and you definitely want some.
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